bakwan Idul Fitri

Yesterday, August 19 2012, was a holy day for our muslim fellows. They celebrated Id-ul Fitr. They celebrate it each year after a month of fasting period which falls on Ramadhan month according to Islam lunar calendar.

I am invited to a small Id-ul Fitr celebration by a friend. Of course she is a muslim.

She is one of only two muslim Indonesians in the area where we live. On Id-ul Fitr celebration this friend of mine always invites me and sometimes 2-3 more other friends. It’s a bit tradition, especially for her and me.

So this year it’s no different. The 3 other friends are also invited. Gezellig! say Dutch people.. :))

As sometimes I do, I will bring something edible to enjoy together there. This time I just want to make something simple. Bakwan. It is a vegetable fritter kind of Indonesian snack.

Here is the recipe.

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B.A.K.W.A.N

Ingredients:
200 gr of chopped mix-vegetable (carrot, cabbage, leek)
300 gr of sweet corn in can, filtered from the water
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tbsp of rice flour
1 tsp of coriander powder
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
very cold water enough to make not-thick-and-not-thin consistency batter ( I use cold tab water)
vegetable oil to deep-fry

How to:
1. Put all purpose flour, rice flour, coriander powder, salt and white pepper in a big bowl and mix well with a fork. Add cold water little by little and mix the batter until it forms batter of not thick and not thin consistency. The batter should be smooth, not lumpy.

2. Add the mix vegetable and sweet corn into the batter. Stir and mix properly. Don’t forget to taste the batter mix.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a pan with medium flame. Fry one tablespoonful of the batter mix. Let the bottom side become light golden brown before turning it upside down and let the other side become golden brown. Then take it out of the pan and put it on a kitchen paper towel to remove the excess oil. Taste it before you continue frying the rest of the batter mix.

4. Serve with chili sauce or with green rawit chili as a snack along with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon.

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Notes:

1. In Indonesia bakwan is enjoyed as a snack to accompany afternoon coffee-tea time. It is normally served with chili sauce or fresh green rawit chili pepper.

2. The original batter uses 1 egg. But I omit it and it turns just as good and crunchy. So, the above recipe is very friendly to those who do not even consume eggs.